Sounders two steps away from Open Cup trophy

There is no ex-teammate drama to drive this week’s storylines. It’s down to brass tacks for the Sounders FC.

Wednesday is the U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. Chivas USA is the foe for the 7:30 p.m. start which will be streamed live on www.soundersfc.com. The Sounders are two matches away from defending their 2009 Open Cup trophy.

It’s been a dismal season for Chivas. The club sits last in the Western Conference with just 19 points. That winning the Open Cup could be the highlight of Chivas’ season is not lost on Sounders coach Sigi Schmid.

“This for them is big,” Schmid said. “It’s an opportunity for them to get a trophy. A trophy, they don’t have one. So this is a game that I think is very important. I think you can expect them pretty much bringing their starting lineup. I heard that (Osael) Romero, who got called into El Salvador, is not going in until after our game. So obviously they want to have all hands on deck.

“Certainly a team like them who, in their history, hasn’t won a trophy at this stage to be in the semifinal they are going to be a hungry team. It’s going to come from the front office on down, ‘This is a chance. We are in the semifinal. We are one game away from getting to the final. We are two games away from having the trophy.’ So they are going to be a hungry team.”

Two weeks ago the clubs played to a scoreless draw in Carson, Calif., the match ending with the dust-up between Chivas defender Mariano Trujillo and Sounders defender Leo Gonzalez. Each earned a red card. Each should be on the Starfire pitch on Wednesday.

“I thought we possessed the ball all right in the game down in L.A. We didn’t get a goal and neither did they,” Schmid said. “So it was just one of those things.”

The Sounders’ Wednesday lineup should be intriguing. Perhaps Miguel Montano will show back up. He has disappeared from the lineup.

It also seems a plausible time to give Blaise Nkufo some rest. Even Terry Boss may make an appearance in goal. Schmid has to maneuver the roster with the MLS match at New England just three days later.

“If we think a guy is ready, we are going to play him,” Schmid said. “We are looking at situations, ‘Oh, OK. This guy has done well at training. It’s pretty close between these two guys. So maybe this guy has got a knock or is a little bit fatigued so we are going to make a change there.’ But in general, we are going to try and play the guys who are ready and able and healthy and well and it’s going to be our best team that we put out there.”